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Gold (GC=F) December futures opened at $4,522 per troy ounce on Friday, September 4, 2026, down 0.4% from Thursday's closing price. The price of gold is pretty steady this morning at $4,521.40 per troy ounce as of 6:45 a.m. ET.
Gold opened at its highest price all week this morning ahead of the August jobs report. Economists expect the U.S. to have added 55,000 jobs last month, a rebound from a surprising decline in job growth in July. Economic data released earlier this week suggests the labor market remains stuck in a pattern of minimal but stable growth.
Coupling a modest jobs report with comments this week from Fed Governor Chris Waller that he's open to holding rates steady if next week's inflation report shows price gains are easing, and bets that the Fed will be raising rates later this month have backed off, giving gold prices some more room to breathe.
The opening price of gold futures on Friday, September 4, 2026, was down 0.4% from Thursday's closing price. Here's a look at how the opening gold price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
For context, the one-year gain for gold was 95.6% on Jan. 29.
24/7 gold price tracking: Don't forget you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the gold industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria.
A gold investment can add stability and inflation protection to your portfolio. But it can also dilute your gains when stock prices are rising quickly. Finding the right balance between gold's diversification benefits and profiting from growth potential in other assets can be challenging.
Even the experts are divided on how to achieve the correct balance. Below, five experts explain their recommended gold allocations, which range from 0% to 20%.
Learn more: How to invest in gold in 4 steps
Robert R. Johnson, professor at Creighton University's Heider College of Business, does not advocate gold investing. In his words, "while having a small position in precious metals may dampen portfolio volatility in the short-run, the tradeoff between slightly dampened volatility and the lost long-term return is certainly not a prudent one, particularly for Gen Z/millennials with long investing time horizons."
Brett Elliott, director of content and SEO at American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX), recommends setting an allocation that aligns with your investing goals.
Growth-oriented investors may be comfortable with an allocation of 10% or 15%, according to Elliott. But income investors will prefer a smaller position, because gold provides no yield. A 2% to 5% gold allocation can provide some resiliency without an excessive drag on income potential.
Learn more: Who decides what gold is worth? How gold prices are determined.
